Marin will have to wait one more week until San Rafael’s Black Bear Diner opens.

The restaurant now says it will open Oct. 30, a week later than was announced earlier this month.

“We still need to get the last inspections done,” said owner Karan Gogri on Thursday as he walked through the bear-adorned restaurant.

The physical structure inside is just about done, and outside carved bears are ready to greet hungry diners.

“It’s a complete restaurant, ready to go,” Gogri said. “But it’s barren, there are no people inside. But that will change soon. We are excited to open.”

On Thursday, several people stopped by hoping to eat, but were told they would have to wait until the end of the month to be able to sit in the restaurant, which has a capacity for about 165 diners.

When it opens, about 100 employees are expected to handle the initial expected burst of patrons. Once it settles into more of a routine, the restaurant expects to employ 60 people.

“Most of the employees are from Marin,” said Frank Leonard, Black Bear district manager.

Restaurant hours will be from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with weekend hours possibly extending to 11 p.m., Gogri said.

The restaurant — at Northgate III, 490 Las Gallinas Ave. in Terra Linda — will be the 102nd diner for the expanding franchise and the 56th in California. The 5,000-square-foot space was formerly occupied by Heirloom Grill and Chili’s.

The latest delay has followed a pattern of stops and starts for the restaurant.

A sign went up in 2016 and the eatery was initially expected to open that November, but the diner hit regulatory snags when San Rafael officials slapped a stop-work order on the project after determining renovations were underway before a building permit was issued. The diner then hired a new architectural group with experience designing Black Bear restaurants.

New work plans were submitted to city staff, the health department signed off, a building permit was issued and work began.

All Black Bear Diner restaurants feature a bear-inspired and log-cabin theme, designed to “remind guests of a time when life was a little simpler and service and quality were the cornerstones of business,” according to a Black Bear press release.

Black Bear Diner was founded 20 years ago in Mount Shasta and has expanded rapidly in recent years. Aside from California, the chain has restaurants in Nevada, Utah, Washington, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado and Idaho.